House passes bill that could lead to US ban of TikTok

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that could ban TikTok in the US unless the app parts ways with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

It is a major challenge to one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, used by 170 million Americans.

If enacted, the bill, which passed on a bipartisan 352-65 vote, would give TikTok about five months to separate from ByteDance, or app stores in the US would be banned from hosting it on their platforms.

It’s not yet clear what the fate of the measure will be in the Senate.

Lawmakers supportive of the bill have argued TikTok poses a national security threat because the Chinese government could use its intelligence laws against ByteDance, forcing it to hand over the data of US app users.

TikTok blasted the House vote and urged the Senate to "consider the facts."

China’s foreign ministry responded angrily ahead of the vote, calling it an "act of bullying."

Source: CNN